Following days of riots, violence, arson, buildings destroyed and mass looting, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a national address to the people of France.  Remarkably, in the beginning of his remarks Macron says no one in the French government understands what is happening, but he is demanding an investigation.

A few paragraphs into the prepared transcript and Macron says high fuel prices driven by President Trump’s war against Iran, “a war we had nothing to do with,” is certainly the cause of the protests that have mysteriously turned violent for some unknown reason.  Macron further notes those protests are righteous, justified and he agrees with them.

This is quite a remarkable address.  WATCH:

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The image below represents the entire dynamic.

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Again, there are multiple dynamics unfolding inside this story.  However, as to the central component of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy complaining about hampered access to Starlink and/or Starshield, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sets the record straight.

Ukraine has never had access to the U.S. military version of Starshield; providing that level of guidance access would be akin to the United States being in direct conflict with Russia using a proprietary U.S. military system. This is not our circus and not our war; there is no need for U.S. military conflict with Russia.

Because Ukraine does not have that access, it is now revealed that Zelenskyy has been using Starlink, a commercially available satellite system – but that system is not permitted by SpaceX to be used for military efforts.  This is almost certainly where the relationship between Elon Musk and former Ukraine Defense Minister Michael Fedorov comes into play. Fedorov is no longer in the Ukraine govt.   WATCH:

Rubio notes that Zelenskyy’s claims against the White House are nonsense.  The White House has not interfered or instructed the military about the use of Starshield because Ukraine has never had Starshield to use.  If Ukraine has been violating the terms of service by weaponizing Starlink (they have) then the commercial provider can act independently to block or stop that access. [Full Transcript Below]

In the background of this storyline, we should always remember that about a month ago Russia finalized their own upgraded satellite system that covers Russia and eastern Europe.  It is widely suspected the increased accuracy of Russian targeting inside Ukraine is specifically because of their own enhanced capabilities, which now highlights the vulnerability of Ukraine if they do not have weaponize their Starlink access and the new desperation therein.

Bottom line, Secretary of State Marco Rubio continues to highlight his mastery of cutting through the nonsense and staying focused on the priorities of the administration with messaging that cuts through the media chafe.  Rubio excels in this role far beyond prior expectations. Very impressive.

On the topic of his travel to the “stans”, watch carefully. This is connected to the overall Russia/Central Asia agenda.

Transcript Below:

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The New York Times {SEE HERE} is leading a charge of multiple U.S. media outlets to rage-bait Americans on the issue of President Trump exempting Russia from a new sanctions regime.

Let me start with a positive.  Despite the massive amount of years-long gaslighting, lying and narrative engineering by the overwhelming majority of American media and political punditry, the majority of Americans don’t want U.S. sanctions against Russia [37% vs 54%].  Why?  Because most Americans have a keen sense of manipulation.

This is one of the reasons why I believe the current effort to create an impeachment narrative against President Trump, again using the Ukraine conflict as the source material, will fail.  Yes, the majority of elected politicians support Ukraine and oppose Russia, but the majority of the American people don’t align with the politicians.

More than a week ago we noted the Trump decision to enter a diesel sales agreement with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin was very predictable.  Even when President Trump signed HR5334 the Lindsey Graham Russian Sanctions bill, we noted how it was written to the benefit of President Trump by Lindsey Graham himself. {GO DEEP}

Indeed, with Europe purchasing Russian energy from Vladimir Putin, one of the great ironies within the latest Russian sanctions bill was the requirement and authorization to tariff Europe at a 500% rate for violating the sanctions bill.  Yes, that is correct, inside this bill congress authorized President Trump to massively raise tariffs on Europe or anyone else who was purchasing Russian energy products.

As a consequence, if President Trump doesn’t take an action to pause or exempt Russia from these latest sanctions regime, then he will end up hitting almost all the NATO allies with 500% tariffs.  However, the media don’t want to draw attention to that aspect as it doesn’t fit their narrative {NYT ARTICLE HERE}.

It did not come as a surprise to me to see President Trump sign an executive order to “waive the application of any sanctions provision” [Executive order here].  Lindsey Graham knew the bottom-line goal of President Trump was to stop the killing, stop the fighting between Ukraine and Russia, and Graham himself created the ability of waivers in the sanction regime specifically so that Trump would have maximum flexibility in providing economic carrots to Russia.

The waiver option is in HR5334 specifically so that President Trump can use it…. And so, he did, DUH!  And Lindsey Graham knew he would. And the media are going bananas.

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Things are not getting better in France, Belgium, Italy and beyond as social chaos continues unfolding. The worst of the street violence seems to be centered throughout France as government officials now report around 500,000 people participated in street “protests” nationally that turned into violent confrontations with police.

EU News is reporting that dozens of arrests were made as the chaos unfolded {link}. “The French Interior Ministry said around 550,000 people took part in the protests, including roughly 110,000 in Paris.”

Additionally, AFP is reporting, “The town hall in the French city of Limoges was “largely lost” to a fire set by masked protesters on Saturday, the top regional official told AFP.  “The roof has collapsed onto lower floors, except the west wing, and two-thirds of the exterior has already disappeared,” the local prefect, Maurice Barate, said.

Another report highlights the looting that quickly took place as opportunists swooped in to agitate for economic reparations in the form of Hermes swag and Apple Store tech components. {link} Looters in several French cities on Saturday broke into stores ranging from a high-end luxury brand to a bakery, on the sidelines of cost-of-living protests, AFP journalists and authorities said.

In Paris, near the Republique square, the front window of a skincare brand came crashing down, with looters tossing beauty products to dozens of people massing outside, an AFP correspondent saw.

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President Trump gave an extensive interview to Newsmax on the topic of Iran and Ukraine, expanding on how difficult it is to deal with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. WATCH:

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The AP is reporting that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has restarted drone attacks against Russian oil refineries despite the request by President Trump to halt targeting energy infrastructure.  There are a lot of aspects within this dynamic.

♦ First, keep in mind that any attacks against Russian infrastructure should always be evaluated against the capability of Russia to effectively mitigate such attacks.  Russia is an analog infrastructure in a digital world, and one of the benefits to their system is the rapid repair capability in the old-school systems.

This may seem like a small detail, however, as noted in the prior attacks against almost all Russian infrastructure, Russia continued energy operations and exports of diesel fuel despite Ukraine targeting. Russia is remarkably resilient and they build out their capabilities with redundancies no longer used in most of the western industrial systems.

Due to their analog systems Russia may be less efficient in maximizing productivity; but what they lose in industrial productivity becomes an actual asset when shifting between internal systems becomes a matter of physically opening and closing valves to shift from damaged to operational stations. Russia’s slow adaption of technological innovation factually becomes a strategic advantage in this type of kinetic war.

♦ Second, it is worth remembering that oil refining capacity has been curtailed by the “climate change advocates” who now assemble to support Zelenskyy.  The nations now aligned against the interests of Russia are yet dependent on the dirty industrial carbon energy resources provided by Russia and other oil exporting countries.

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Well, well well… Interesting development. The conspiracy theorists were correct all along.

Four years after the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, one of the alleged perpetrators has to answer in court for the first time. The trial of Serhiy Kuznetsov began today in Hamburg, Germany.

During opening arguments, lawyers representing Kuznetsov informed the judge that he was acting on instructions given to him by the government of Ukraine when he led a team to detonate explosives on the Nord Stream pipeline.

GERMANY – According to the indictment, Serhiy K., together with other military personnel and on behalf of Ukrainian state agencies, is said to have developed the plan to destroy the natural gas pipelines running from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The aim was to prevent Russia from using revenues from the gas trade to finance the war of aggression.

Under the leadership of the accused, a commando consisting of several professional divers, a skipper and an explosives expert is said to have brought large quantities of high-performance military explosives into the waters off the Danish island of Bornholm on a sailing yacht chartered in Rostock. There, explosive devices equipped with time fuses were then attached to the gas pipelines running along the seabed.

When they were ignited on September 26, 2022, the two gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 were severely damaged. There were a total of four leaks on three of the four lines.

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The U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday it is imposing $1.2 billion in fines on Bank of America for compliance violations resulting in lax efforts to curtail money laundering activity. The fines on America’s second-biggest bank amount to the third-largest in the department’s history.  [Treasury Notice Here]

Money laundering for Latin-American narcotraffickers, terrorists as well as sketchy individuals/organizations that continue avoiding U.S. Treasury sanctions appear to be the heart of the matter.

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced a $750 million civil money penalty against Bank of America, N.A. (bank), for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations, including 12 CFR 21.21 and 12 CFR 21.11. This amount is the largest in OCC history. The bank is also subject to a December 2024 cease-and-desist order (2024 Order), which requires the bank to address its deficient Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program.

“Bank of America, N.A., is the second largest bank in the U.S. and the sixth largest in the world. Every year, it processes hundreds of trillions of dollars in transactions across the globe. It has a high, and increasing, risk profile for money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit activities. Almost two years ago, the bank signed an order with the OCC and committed to fixing its longstanding BSA deficiencies. Despite its obligation to the American people as a national-chartered, global systemically important bank, the bank’s BSA/AML compliance program continues to reflect widespread breakdowns in internal controls, which threatens U.S. national and economic security” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould. “The bank’s poor response to its BSA deficiencies is unacceptable. The second largest bank’s egregious and continued BSA violations warrant the OCC imposing its largest CMP ever assessed against a bank. The OCC expects all banks to have an effective BSA/AML compliance program. Those that do not can expect swift and significant action from the OCC.”

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As President Trump continues to confront the EU-NATO antagonists who demand increased conflict with Russia, the primary voices of the EU-NATO group shout panic about Putin’s nefarious espionage, mayhem, general mischief and other heinous activity.  All of it with the ever-present ‘just trust us‘ evidence.

Yesterday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham blamed Russia for the 2016 Brexit referendum vote that took the U.K out of the European Union.

UK NEWS – […] “The prime minister told The Rest is Politics podcast that upon arriving in No 10, he had asked about possible Russian interference in the 2016 vote, adding: “I’ve had the clear answer that, yes, there was.” […]  Burnham did not provide further details about the type or extent of Moscow’s activity during the Brexit referendum.

Britain Unbound, a pro-Brexit campaign group, said Burnham’s comments were “another crude attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the decision that the British people made in 2016”. (read more)

Today, Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a man of notoriously intemperate disposition, said that two Turkish fellows who sabotaged the Starlink satellite station near Warsaw were operating on behalf of Putin.

WARSAW, Poland — Poland is blaming Russia for an arson attack on a Starlink satellite station in September and two Turkish citizens have been arrested in connection with the suspected act of sabotage, authorities said.

The suspects, whose names were not released in line with Polish privacy rules, were arrested in Germany, Polish officials said Monday. They are accused of deliberately setting fire to Starlink infrastructure on Sept. 23 in Wola Krobowska, Poland, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Warsaw.

[…] Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in a post on X, called the incident “another act of hybrid warfare.” (read more)

Meanwhile the head of British Intelligence, MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum, warned Prime Minister Burham that promoting Russian conspiracies without solid evidence to support his claim may lead to an erosion of confidence in the U.K government.  Apparently, like the German people, the British are laughing at government leadership.

[He] suggested Russian trolls would be “delighted” to be front page news again, “despite the comparative unimpressiveness” of their efforts.  He added: “There is a really important difference between interference attempted and outcome swayed. {source}

There are diabolical plots afoot, and serious seriousness is demanded.

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U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, has resigned her post amid swirling controversy about her previously requesting a GOP donor to pay for her American Express bill ($100k+).

POLITICO – […] Guilfoyle, the one-time fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., the president’s oldest son, has come under heavy scrutiny in recent days after a Wall Street Journal report last week revealed communications with Eric Deters, a Republican donor who said she urged him to wire her the money through American Express.

Kimberly Guilfoyle (via X) – “Serving as the United States Ambassador to Greece has been the honor of a lifetime. I will forever be grateful to President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for entrusting me with the extraordinary privilege of representing the greatest country in the history of the world.

From my first day as Ambassador, I have worked tirelessly to advance President Trump’s America First agenda, strengthen our strategic alliance with Greece, and deliver meaningful victories for the American people.

During my tenure, we have helped secure historic agreements to expand American liquefied natural gas exports to Europe, advanced the Vertical Corridor to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, strengthened our defense and security partnership with a critical NATO ally, and expanded opportunities for American businesses and investment throughout the region.

I am especially proud of the role our Embassy has played in strengthening American energy dominance, advancing economic cooperation, and ensuring that the United States remains the indispensable leader in Southeast Europe.

These accomplishments are a testament to President Trump’s bold leadership, Secretary Rubio’s commitment to American diplomacy, and the extraordinary men and women who serve our country every day.

I also want to address the recent allegations against me. These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity. I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional. I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.

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